March 2010 Blog Posts (32)

Dogs Rescued from Hoarding Situation

In case you missed the story on Fox 9 News today, here it is.

Animal Ark was very pleased to provide support to Waseca Animal Rescue, the organization that coordinated this effort. They were calm, professional, thoughtful and caring in all of their activities. We would also like to thankhttp://www.animalallies.net in Duluth for helping.…

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Added by Mike Fry on March 31, 2010 at 8:30pm — 7 Comments

Help Needed with Rescued Pets

They are dirty, smelly and a little shy, but life for them is taking a turn for the better. Waseca Animal Rescue has saved dozens of animals from a large-scale situation many would typically describe as a “hoarder”. In total, about 20 cats and 60 dogs were on the property. According to local ordinances only 3…

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Added by Mike Fry on March 30, 2010 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Meet my Buddy

Buddy came to Animal Ark on Friday, March 26th from Isanti Animal Control with severe injuries. One of our "angels" from the area of Isanti made arrangements for Buddy to be rescued and brought to Animal Ark for medical evaluation and treatment. Buddy is seventy pounds, with two broken back legs. Akin Hills Animal Hospital assessed Buddy's injuries today. Buddy will have surgery on both of his back legs on Thursday at Akin Hills with the wonderful team who fixed up our most recent success… Continue

Added by Mallory Eiynck on March 29, 2010 at 6:09pm — 7 Comments

Guess who came to visit!

So most of you long timers may remember Hooch, he came for a visit with his wonderful dad Sean today. Sean used to volunteer many hours at Animal Ark, before he moved out east. He was back visiting and I had to capture at least a few photos, the one really captures Hooch's silly personality! Thanks Sean for coming by.…

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Added by Mallory Eiynck on March 29, 2010 at 5:37pm — 4 Comments

An Inspiring Animal Wise Radio Today

Today on Animal Wise Radio, we got to talk to Jim Williams at Animal Allies Humane Society in Duluth, MN. What they have accomplished in their city, at a time when the economy is really hurting people and pets, is quite remarkable. Learn how they went from being a relatively high kill shelter, that also transferred animals to other higher kill shelters, to being a city that has nearly a 90% save rate. At the same time, they stopped sending animals to other shelters and have begun bringing… Continue

Added by Mike Fry on March 28, 2010 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Farewell Annette

It is not often our shelter experiences the loss of a dedicated staff member, but yesterday we did. Annette West worked at Animal Ark for about ten years caring for large numbers of our felines during that time. Those of us who knew Annette will always remember her dry sense of humor. Although she could come off to some as grouchy, it was simply her way of being humorous. During the last few months of Annette's life, she insisted upon continuing her work at Animal Ark to care for the cats and… Continue

Added by Mallory Eiynck on March 25, 2010 at 5:15pm — 6 Comments

An Open Letter to MN Legislators: Your Constituents are Speaking. Are You Listening?

Please read my open letter to the entire Minnesota Legislature here.

Added by Mike Fry on March 24, 2010 at 5:15pm — 4 Comments

The Citizens are Speaking... will the Legislature Listen?

Shortly after posting this petition asking the Minnesota Legislator to do their jobs and regulate puppy mills, there are already more than 200… Continue

Added by Mike Fry on March 23, 2010 at 7:30pm — No Comments

Girl Scout Troop 50595 Vists the Ark

Today the Girl Scout from Troop 50595 located in Oakdale, came to visit the Ark. They brought all kinds of fun donations for our dogs and cats. The donations included dog treats, food, tennis balls, cat beds, and cute pink cathouses.

Because the Girl Scouts are working on getting their Pet Badges, they held a K9 event at the Girl Scout Service Unit. They organized a donation drive to take place at the same time as the event. They had over 80 people that came to the event, and all of them… Continue

Added by Maggie Larson on March 22, 2010 at 6:41pm — 3 Comments

Here comes spring...

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Added by Shanyn on March 22, 2010 at 12:13pm — 2 Comments

Senate Ag Committee Members Suggest We Need Puppy Mills to Support Regulation in Order to Pass a Bill

Among the shocking comments and statements made by members of the Senate Agriculture and Veterans Committee were some that provided insight into how the political process in Minnesota works.

Residents of Minnesota are posting responses from their legislators on Facebook and Twitter, once again proving how social networking can provide some additional transparency to government operations. In one particularly telling post, a constituent of…

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Added by Mike Fry on March 21, 2010 at 5:00pm — 11 Comments

A Special Project

On Friday, we took a bit of time out of our days at the shelter to produce this video. We enjoyed the opportunity to do it and I think it turned out quite well! It is sort of surprising that a surgery suite can double as a TV studio!… Continue

Added by Mike Fry on March 21, 2010 at 12:00am — 5 Comments

URGENT Action Alert: Puppy Mill Bill NEEDS YOU TO TAKE ACTION NOW!

Following the recent vote in the Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee on Senate File 7, a large number of Minnesotans are growing impatient… Continue

Added by Animal Ark on March 20, 2010 at 8:30pm — 5 Comments

Bandit at the end of the day!

One last photo for today! Bandit all sacked out after a long playful day at the shelter.....he is napping on the counter while his foster mom is getting caught up with staff at the end of the day.

Nighty Nighty!

Added by Karen B. on March 20, 2010 at 5:59pm — 1 Comment

Dillon & Norman

We had a visit from one of our adopted dogs today! Dillon rollerbladed to the shelter with Norman!

Added by Karen B. on March 20, 2010 at 5:19pm — 1 Comment

Bandit & Muppet

Muppet's foster mom brought her in for a visit today and she found a play buddy! Our sweet puppy, Bandit, was her play buddy! Here is an action shot from their romp together while hanging out in the office today!

And another shot of Muppet resting.

Bandit resting…

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Added by Karen B. on March 20, 2010 at 5:10pm — 2 Comments

And Speaking of Athritis...

Last week on Animal Wise Radio, we talked with the CEO of Flexcin, International, makers of Flexcin (for people) and FlexPet (for pets). During that discussion, I told the story of one dog adopted from Animal Ark, Heidi. By our estimates, Heidi is now about 14, which is quite old for a German Shepherd.

Heidi is a very sweet and loving girl who was adopted from Animal Ark several years ago by my aunt. Recently, her hips began failing her quite badly. We all feared the worst…

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Added by Mike Fry on March 19, 2010 at 12:56am — No Comments

Sometimes All That is Needed is to Let Them Heal

Please note that this puppy, Zeke, has both of his front paws before reading the following:

I apologize in advance if this rant gets long or if I get a little too much on my soap box. However, I've got a pet peeve that has been bugging me for… Continue

Added by Mike Fry on March 19, 2010 at 12:00am — 12 Comments

The start of making a coconut helmutt!!!

Added by Lindsay CVT on March 18, 2010 at 8:34pm — 1 Comment

Igor's Recovery

Just an update on Igor. Dr. Roni did surgery on Monday, removing his right eye, neutering him, removing a dewclaw, and retained deciduous teeth. As of this morning you would never know. He is bouncing around like nothing happened. He is a very sparkley little character!

Added by Lindsay CVT on March 17, 2010 at 8:43am — 3 Comments